It’s time to stop calling the Colonial Athletic Association a mid-major conference.

Judging by last year’s success, the league looks to have earned a chair at the adult table.

The Colonial proved itself last season with three teams—VCU, George Mason and Old Dominion—reaching the NCAA Tournament, marking the first time in history that three teams advanced to the Big Dance in the same season.

The Colonial placed two teams in the NCAA Tournament on three other occasions—1986 (Navy and Richmond), 2006 (UNC Wilmington and George Mason) and 2007 (VCU and Old Dominion).

Of course, everyone will remember VCU’s historic march to the Final Four before losing to Butler in the national semifinal. However, Old Dominion lost a two-point heartbreaker to Butler in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and George Mason ousted Villanova in the first round and then lost to Ohio State. No shame there. The CAA trio all posted at least 27 victories last season. Only the Big East (four) had more teams to do so.

The CAA also was one of only five Division I conferences to have six teams with at least 21 victories (Drexel, James Madison and Hofstra were the others). The Big East featured 11 teams with at least 21 wins, followed by the ACC with seven and the Big 12 and Conference USA joining the Colonial with six each. The CAA’s total was more than the SEC (five), Mountain West (four), Big Ten (four) and Pac-10 (four).

The challenge now is to sustain that success, but VCU’s run last year can do nothing but help this conference continue its ascension.

Old Dominion defeated Final Four-bound VCU to capture its sixth CAA championship last year, the most of any conference member. The Monarchs also became the fourth team in CAA history to win back-to-back conference titles.

Coach Blaine Taylor welcomes back senior guard Kent Bazemore, who led the CAA in steals (2.2 per game) and was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, although he will miss some time early in the season as he recovers from a broken foot.

Guard Trian Illiadis (6.0 points per game) and forward Chris Cooper (5.1) are also back, but the Monarchs return just six lettermen from last year’s 27-7 team. Defense has always been a staple of Taylor’s teams, so even with the new faces, Old Dominion should be in the mix once again.

As if the CAA competition wasn't tough enough, the Monarchs have a challenging non-conference schedule. The team is scheduled to play No. 22 Missouri and Northern Iowa and will participate in the Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament with No. 2 Kentucky and Penn State.

"As we do traditionally, a very challenging slate of games awaits our players, program and followers, many 20-game winners which will pose a challenge that will provide many experiences," Taylor said. "Our team has typically climbed a hill during the season taking the twists and turns as they come in the trail.

"It will be very entertaining to see how our team stands up to the ever present challenges and grow as we go. The fact that we will be adding players to our roster during the course of the season adds to the potential of experiences of our group."